Head of Unit (Operations)

Are you a strategic individual with experience of leading a large customer service operation?

Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced, customer focused environment?

Do you thrive on creating and leading a coaching culture environment to achieve results?

Can you analyse and interpret data to inform and implement change?

If so, this could be the role for you! We’re looking for a Head of Operations to lead our vibrant team in the DVLA Contact Centre!

The DVLA maintain the licensing of drivers in Great Britain and the registration and licensing of vehicles, together with the collection and enforcement of vehicle tax in the UK.

As the role holder will be responsible for leading around 500 staff, we are looking to recruit an individual with senior contact centre leadership experience, who has strong coaching and analytical skills to implement and drive strategic change to deliver a first-class customer experience.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DVLA:

DVLA – Home , Civil Service Careers

The role will require you to lead and manage all aspects of the Contact Centre operations to achieve all business targets through the effective use of resources and engagement of staff.

You will work closely with the Head of the Contact Centre to formulate and lead on strategy and empower and coach managers through change. For the role you will need strong communication skills to understand and listen to concerns from all levels and build solutions into the business’ strategy, enabling managers to understand, implement and deliver the service efficiently. It is therefore crucial that you are confident analysing data to drive continuous improvements and can build strong relationships quickly to influence and drive the contact centre through change as it moves into a digital space.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Lead the unit to:

• achieve key performance targets and quality standards
• continuously improve efficiency and effectiveness
• effectively manage risks
• support the delivery of electronic services
• deliver change across the agency

2. Contribute to the agency’s strategic business planning process by developing performance and quality standards and effectively managing all resources based on robust business intelligence.

3. Advance and support the strategic, organisational, and cultural change programmes by:

• promoting change and leading teams through the change process
• delivering and monitoring the benefits brought by change
• building team and management capability to be fit for the future
• creating a culture that supports an environment of accountability and future proofs the workforce.

4. Communicate and engage regularly, across OCSD, the agency and externally, developing and maintaining good working relationships.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1250-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• Strategic leadership on business and people priorities, and successfully leading people through change
• Senior leadership within a fast-paced contact centre environment, with responsibility for a workforce of 250+ staff
• Analysing and interpreting performance data to provide insight, shape recommendations and drive business decisions
• Driving and sustaining high performance through effective leadership, with a strong track record of developing and embedding a coaching culture across senior management

The sift will take place from 15/10/2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Communicating & Influencing, Leadership, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Managing a Quality Service
• Experience

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place from 27/10/2026.

This interview will be conducted in person at our Swansea office (DVLA, Longview Road, Morriston, Swansea). Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 6 month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Pre-employment Checking

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.